Am I trans??
"Are you trans??" the woman asked me?
Some talk this week about gender identity and sexual orientation and sin and disorder and humoungous hoaxes in the newspapers
I trying to see how to answer the question.
I have been transgressive.
No, I have not worn any high heels or wigs or makeup but rather I joined up with Help & Shelter way back and I ended up being the only 'man' there. A woman had said that she suspicious because is only woman does do this kind of work.
Another transgressive thing I am involved in include standing with a whole set of women protesting sexual violence against children for many weeks, now and then other men who transgress the gender norms (real men like to have sex with children?) join up in the protest.
And many people think from my name that I am a woman, in fact all my refusal emails from the CARICOM Secretariat start with Dear Ms Kissoon. Now and then, people express disappointment that I am not a beautiful intelligent articulate woman, but rather another man who think a lot of himself and who talks too much.
So, if I answer yes to the question, that I am trans, then what kind of woman am I becoming? Because like many women, I dont think about wearing makeup and and I not sure about the high heels, my foot barely manage sandals (I know, some old women wear sandals) and I dont like wearing towel round my waist (people beware, I put my towel round my neck and shoulders), so I could imagine wearing a skirt could be annoying (like many women find, a lot of women wear pants). I know a guy who say as far as he know , he is straight, who like wearing pink shirt, I like blue, so I not sure what kind of woman wears blue.
I like the hair on my skin, unlike many women, so I not sure again if I am trans-ing to hairy woman, with a flabby belly.
On the other hand, unlike some men, I dont like curtains and things to do with fixing up house and so on. The cooking thing.. I like cooking and I have a sweet tooth. Another woman had told me about a man who was possessed by a girl spirit, and was calling for pera, and sugar cake and fudge and "ting dat girl like". So.. I thought, I got two girl spirit in me because I like all of that too and plenty of it.
Is funny, because i know plenty girl who like green mango and salt, and carailla and so on.
I like some of the politics of women who are lesbian, and some of them like Audre Lourde, and I have said to people that I am a black lesbian.
I am not scared of women, nor fearful of loving any of them, and I dont view women as threats. I dont drink Mackeson or any other alchohol, so that probably means that I already transgressive. I dont know if that means that I am not a real man. But they have plenty women who drink those things, so again, maybe I caught in the middle somewhere.
According to the Wikipedia :
Transgender is the state of one's "gender identity" (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) not matching one's "assigned sex" (identification by others as male, female or intersex based on physical/genetic sex).
Many transgender are not drag queens. I am not a drag queen either.
I have been assigned a sex as male, I aint got no problem with that. But it is the gender identity thing, I not sure what label to use or to do the neither or both thing.
How should I answer that question?
Some talk this week about gender identity and sexual orientation and sin and disorder and humoungous hoaxes in the newspapers
I trying to see how to answer the question.
I have been transgressive.
No, I have not worn any high heels or wigs or makeup but rather I joined up with Help & Shelter way back and I ended up being the only 'man' there. A woman had said that she suspicious because is only woman does do this kind of work.
Another transgressive thing I am involved in include standing with a whole set of women protesting sexual violence against children for many weeks, now and then other men who transgress the gender norms (real men like to have sex with children?) join up in the protest.
And many people think from my name that I am a woman, in fact all my refusal emails from the CARICOM Secretariat start with Dear Ms Kissoon. Now and then, people express disappointment that I am not a beautiful intelligent articulate woman, but rather another man who think a lot of himself and who talks too much.
So, if I answer yes to the question, that I am trans, then what kind of woman am I becoming? Because like many women, I dont think about wearing makeup and and I not sure about the high heels, my foot barely manage sandals (I know, some old women wear sandals) and I dont like wearing towel round my waist (people beware, I put my towel round my neck and shoulders), so I could imagine wearing a skirt could be annoying (like many women find, a lot of women wear pants). I know a guy who say as far as he know , he is straight, who like wearing pink shirt, I like blue, so I not sure what kind of woman wears blue.
I like the hair on my skin, unlike many women, so I not sure again if I am trans-ing to hairy woman, with a flabby belly.
On the other hand, unlike some men, I dont like curtains and things to do with fixing up house and so on. The cooking thing.. I like cooking and I have a sweet tooth. Another woman had told me about a man who was possessed by a girl spirit, and was calling for pera, and sugar cake and fudge and "ting dat girl like". So.. I thought, I got two girl spirit in me because I like all of that too and plenty of it.
Is funny, because i know plenty girl who like green mango and salt, and carailla and so on.
I like some of the politics of women who are lesbian, and some of them like Audre Lourde, and I have said to people that I am a black lesbian.
I am not scared of women, nor fearful of loving any of them, and I dont view women as threats. I dont drink Mackeson or any other alchohol, so that probably means that I already transgressive. I dont know if that means that I am not a real man. But they have plenty women who drink those things, so again, maybe I caught in the middle somewhere.
According to the Wikipedia :
Transgender is the state of one's "gender identity" (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) not matching one's "assigned sex" (identification by others as male, female or intersex based on physical/genetic sex).
Many transgender are not drag queens. I am not a drag queen either.
I have been assigned a sex as male, I aint got no problem with that. But it is the gender identity thing, I not sure what label to use or to do the neither or both thing.
How should I answer that question?
Wikipedia is not an official source, meaning it can not be used for scientific postulations as it has not been adequately reviewed. Additionally, anyone can make contributions on that site, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty about the validity of the data presented.
ReplyDeleteAre you homosexual? If so then that is your choice and how you chose to live your life will reflect the consequences you will face.
People are quick to cry discrimination because they are homosexuals. People say that the Guyanese society is not ready to accept gays and lesbians. This may or may not be true.
Anyone and everyone who is "different" in Guyana faces some form of discrimination in Guyanese society.
I'm left handed, I was made fun of by many right handers. I was called "caca hand", "kanwah", "waste" etc. I was told I "will never write neatly", I "was stupid" and a whole list of other negative comments. Some affected me deeply.
I also wear glasses. I was called NERD. A name that I detest. I had expremely coarse, stiff hair. I was teased about my wayward hair. I am hairy. I was/am called gorrilla, bush man, jungle boy, mogli etc.
Any handicapped person will tell you of the taunts they receive on a daily basis, the insensitivity of their friends, neighbours and the general society.
Homosexuals, being who they are - different, as a blind man, as a hairy man, are taunted no more than your average different man.
Probably I should go and start an organisation to recognise the rights of persons who wear glasses or persons who are hairy. After all, I was discriminated against and taunted because I am different.
Mahendra should acquaint himself with the difference between individual acts of prejudice and structural forms of oppresion pervasive in society that have real material as well as life or death consequences. Moreover, wikipedia is a democratic and dynamic form of knowledge, does it matter if someone is a scientist or not for us to accept their views? Aren't scientists as biased as any other person (despite what they like to think)?
ReplyDeleteBoy, you get me started mahendra, but wha i really wanted to comment on was the underlying pride embedded in this post. We all make transgressions (in different ways, some loud, some quiet).
In my opinion and as a christian, I believe that homosexuality is a sin.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I am not the one to judge or determine who is a sinner. Jesus Christ, when the woman who was caught in adultery was brought before him, said "He that is without sin cast the first stone". When he was preaching he also said that we must "remove the plank from our eyes before looking at the speck of dust in our brother's eye". Additionally, he stated that we should judge not as we will be judge according to the same methods we use to judge others by.
Homosexuals are human beings and should be treated as any other man, woman or child. As such I am against any special treatment for homosexuals.
How many homosexuals were killed because of what they are?
How many Jews were killed for who they are?
How many Rawandans were killed for who they are?
How many christians were/are killed for who they are?
What special treatments do the others receive?
V, thanks for this..loved the humor in the transgressing..two girl spirit - careful somebody doan try an cast them out:)
ReplyDeleteMahendra, In my opinion (though not casting judgment, being Christian is a sin -- as the philosphy of Christianity was responsible for racism, colonialism, slavery, torture, the Crusades, genocide of native populations, etc
ReplyDeleteI am against the special treatment of Christians (who still, may I remind you, benefit their crimes against humanity).
May God bless your soul.
Might I remind you sir/madam/it of whatever you are that Christians are the followers of Jesus Christ who died less that 2,000 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMost religions and some of the things you mentioned existed long before that.
Slavery - was practiced by all ancient cultures and was prominent in Africa long before the discovery of the new world. In some cultures today slavery is still practiced - you can check research slavery in India.
Racism - this also was practiced long before christianity came into existence, classism which is an extreme spinoff of racism was practiced in India long before Christ was born and still continues today despite being banned in India.
Torture was practiced long ago, Jesus was tortured on the cross by a system invented by the Romans. People torture themselves long before 2000 yrs to please their gods, walking on their knees up mountains, beating themselves until blood flows etc
I believe the Roman Catholics were and are still misguided. I do not believe they hold fast to the teachings of Jesus Christ and I certainly don't hold fast to anything they say.
I for one strongly disagree and condemn their excuses for murdering anyone, let alone new converts. The blood of the innocents are on their hands and God will deal with them accordingly on the Day of Judgement. This present shame of abusing little boys and covering up the evidence will also stain all those involved. The worship of Mary and the esteem being placed on her as the Mother of God, the praying to dumb statues and the praying for those purgatory are not concepts embraced by real Christians.
Christians were persecuted and killed for their beliefs. What special treatment do christians receive?
I believe you rattled off a response without properly researching the issue at hand. Next time you want to participate in a discussion please get your facts right. I would like to point out to you that Baptists were the ones who brought the fight to the slave masters and succeeded in having slavery abolished. You may also want to ponder on the fact that many who participated in the slave trade and the exploitation of the natives were not religious but just found it convenient to carry out these dastardly acts in the Name of God. Many christians were opposed to the slavery as it relates to the post 1492 era and many fought against it from the time it started to the point when it was outlawed.
Do the jihadist, the taliban, al quaeda represent the entire islamic community? no!
Do the roman catholics represent the entire Christian community? Certainly not!
You seemed to have missed the point about special treatment. What special treatment did Christians receive?
Do some research then attempt another try.
Vid,
ReplyDeleteI'm not knocking your choice or sexual preference. All human beings deserve to be treated equally and its necessary to band together (like unions etc) to ensure no one take away those rights.
The crossdressing issue is a touchy one. If a homosexual put on female garments and a heterosexual male cat calls him, only to find out that "he" is not a "she". The other person may be made fun of by onlookers and there may be some severe negative reactions by the hetero male. I've heard of crossdressers being brutally beaten because of such "deception". Mind you these persons (crossdressers) were walking along not interfering with a single person.
With priests being sued because they refuse to marry two homosexuals. That is just wrong, if it is against the mans beliefs to marry homos then that is his right. You guys can find another priest to conduct the ceremony.
Hi mahendra
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of misinformation being peddled around the place about special treatment, and priests being sued for refusing to marry two men or two women. First all, the issue of rights for gay and lesbian people about that, human rights, not any special rights. and you might want to read the Yogyakarta Principles - http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/
The issue of 'marriage' is about the State (secular entity) recognising the marriage and applying the marriage benefits.. it has nothing to do with priests marrying or not marrying.. if you live in Guyana you would know that many priests marry people whose marriages are not registered in law (President Jagdeo's was a recent example).
Thanks for engaging though and keep talking..
Mahendra: "Next time you want to participate in a discussion please get your facts right" - is class the same as caste?
ReplyDelete-is race the same as skin tone?
-is debt bondage the equivalent to chattel slavery?
-was it really kindly Christians that saved the slaves or did African through continous struggle achieve Emancipation?
As for your point about special treatment for Christians, are you asking for it, and if so on the basis of what?
Vid -- Mahendra said: "Are you homosexual? If so then that is your choice and how you chose to live your life will reflect the consequences you will face."
Don't encourage homophobes!
I believe that all of us have to live our lives and the kinds of actions we take will have consequences.. Hindus call that karma
ReplyDeleteAnon I never asked for special treatment for Christians.
ReplyDeleteTo get into the details of how emancipation came into being would probably take us a lifetime and several volumes of history books.
Vid understand the consequences of choices. He made a decision to resign from the ROTCC and the various positive and negative remarks he received were as a result of the choice he made.
This Guyanese society is not an easy one to live in, our people are not educated enough to understand what is politically correct. The whole essence of my first post was to highlight that fact.
I'm not sure we will ever be mature enough to accept different people.
Our society mirrors John Wyndham's Chrysalids.
hey man, why you so pessimistic? There are many people who have opened their minds to see people without prejudice and to get things out of their heads in terms of whatever issue.. race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, background.. .. things can change with education and discussion
ReplyDelete